A Scientific Theory - The Dark Matter Railgun
by Psychometry
Summary: Kakine enters an esper tournament only to find out a magician is entering. Fearing a war between the two sides, he decides to stop him. However, obstacles stand in his way such as his guest and facing the number one. Will he be able to prevent a calamity or we he fall trying? Loyalties are tested and lives are put at risk as this tale tells of his mission.
1. A slightly less dark matter

**Hello there! Yes, a new story. Let me make a few points before I get messages or reviews about it. First, I wrote this story because it was an idea in my head and I had been stuck on what to do to push Brought into the Darkness closer to the ending I want. It worked. My creativity is renewed and I am back to working on it. Second, The Imaginary Shadow. That story is really just a side project. I am still working on it. Yes, I'm talking to you. You know who you are. I will still be releasing chapters of that. If you have anymore questions, please leave a review or PM me about it.**

**Also, let me make a point. I don't think most people read the genres for stories, so I feel the need to point it out. This story is marked as "tragedy" for a reason. I just wanted to point that out. If you do not like tragic stories, this fanfic is not for you. Thanks and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

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Misaka flipped open her Gekota phone and looked down at the time. The display showed that it was 14:30. Her brown eyes stared at the phone in annoyance and her brown hair flowed in the gentle breeze.

"He's late…" She mumbled to herself and closed the phone. She took a look around and caught no sight of the boy she was waiting for. "Geez! What the hell is he doing? We don't have time for this! If he doesn't hurry his ass up, we're going to miss our chance to sign up!" She walked back and forth, her patience wearing thin.

"Hey! Misaka!"

The girl turned at the sound of her name being shouted out. A boy with blond hair and dark eyes was quickly making his way over to her across the busy plaza. He had to push his way through a crowd of people to make it over to where the girl stood in front of the ramen shop.

"You're late." Misaka said, glaring at the boy when he stopped in front of her.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kakine said. "Some guys jumped me on the way here and I had to deal with them."

Misaka looked at the boy with uncertainty. He just looked, then glanced back to her. She sighed.

"Fine. I'll forgive you." Just as the boy was about to let out a breath he had been holding in, she poked her finger into his chest. "This time only!" The boy let out his breath. "Now come on!" She grabbed his hand and started to pull him along as she sprinted down the street. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry!"

"Geez, the signup ends at 15:50! We have plenty of time!" The boy sighed in annoyance as he was ignored by the girl and continued being dragged along. The two ran through the streets, passing up various confectionaries and clothing stores to find themselves in front of what appeared to be a modern day coliseum. In a city that was technologically advanced around twenty years ahead of the rest of this world, this was a sight to behold.

The two rushed through the archway that marked the entry point, pushing through the crowd of people who were either leaving or going for the last minute signup. Misaka cleared a path for them and they managed to get to the front of the line, to the disdain of much of the people behind them, and they were greeted by a kind woman with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a receptionist's outfit.

"May I help you?" The woman asked kindly. That seemed kind of redundant to even ask. What else would they even be there for?

"We'd like to sign up for the tournament as a pair." Misaka said excitedly.

"Alright. May I get your names please?" The woman turned to the computer next to her and brought up Academy City's database. It was necessary to record the participant's levels and abilities. And even though they asked, the computer was there for confirmation.

"My name is Misaka Mikoto. My ability is Electromaster."

The woman typed the name in on the computer screen and Misaka's file popped up.

"Ah, yes. Here you are Misaka-san." She wrote down her name and ability. "I see you're a level 4, there are quite a lot of you today."

Misaka smiled as if she had been given the biggest compliment in the world, then she stepped aside to let Kakine through.

"What's your name?"

Kakine stayed silent. He really wanted to participate in this, but if he said his name, he knew it would only draw everybody's attention. He sighed.

"My name is Kakine Teitoku. My ability is Dark Matter." He stated. The woman blinked a few times and looked at him as if he was joking.

"Um… let me just confirm that please." She typed his name in and his file popped up. She looked from his face to the one on the screen in disbelief.

"Geez, if you need any more fucking proof, here's my ID." He pulled out his ID and showed it to her. The woman looked at it and slowly wrote his name down and his ability. She took extra time writing down his ability level: 5.

"Thank you… Sir…" Kakine turned around to walk away only to see that everybody had stopped and was now staring at him.

"What the…?" He turned around and looked up. A large screen displayed him and Misaka side by side, along with their ability names and levels. "Shit…"

"So, it's no so fun being one of only two level 5's in the entire city, huh?" Misaka asked, nudging him.

"Shut the fuck up…" He grabbed her hand and dashed for the doorway.

There were loud shouts of "It's him! A level 5!" or "It's the number two!" Those only made him run faster, dragging Misaka along.

After about twenty minutes of running to make sure that nobody followed them, the two stopped at a small café and walked inside. Misaka was breathing heavily, but Kakine didn't seem the least bothered by the long run. The two found a booth near the back and sat down.

"You see, that is the exact reason why I didn't want to sign up for the stupid tournament. All I did was attract attention." Kakine said in annoyance.

"Yeah, but if a lot of people find out that a Level 5 is participating in the tournament, then there will be more people to fight. And more people to fight means that my chances of becoming a Level 5 increase." Misaka said. She happily sipped on some coffee.

"You… How did I ever become friends with a girl like you anyways? You act like it's a lot of fun to be a Level 5, but it's not."

"What do you mean? I'm sure it's a blast to be a Level 5!" Misaka looked up, thinking about it with this daydream-like look on her face.

"…" Memories flooded Kakine's head. All of the experiments scientists had done to him and made him do. All the hours spent being prodded and injected with strange medicine. Being tied down to a table while a doctor examined every inch of his body and mind. "Real fucking fun…" He mumbled this so low that Misaka didn't even hear it.

Kakine clenched his fist, but quickly loosened up when he saw that Misaka was staring at him. He grabbed her coffee and took a sip from it.

"Hey!" She said, snatching the cup from him.

"What? You can still drink it."

Misaka looked at the cup and turned a bright shade of red as she slowly took another sip.

"See? Geez. Besides, you can count that as a small part of what you owe me for doing this. I still can't believe you actually convinced me to team up with you. I should've just entered solo if anything. Besides, you do realize that they split you up as the tournament goes on, right?" He looked at her.

"W-wait! What!?" Misaka almost spit out her coffee when she heard that. "Where did you hear that!?"

"I read all of the rules prior to signing up for the tournament."

"Well why didn't you tell me!?"

"Payback for making me sign up." He said with a laugh. He reached out and rubbed her head. "I hope we don't have to face against each other in the tournament." He said with a smile.

"You're so mean…" She said, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. The two stared at each other for a minute before bursting into laughter.

"Still…" Kakine said, smiling a little. "I never thought I'd end up entering one of these."

"Why is that? You don't it'll be fun?"

"That's not it… Misaka. There are only two level 5's in a city with over 2.8 million people in it and the majority of those are espers. Think about it. A level 5 signing up for this tournament… it's bound to draw a lot of attention to me. I prefer to stay low and out of sight." He thought about it. He was bound to be hounded by news teams who would want an interview with him. "That's why I figured I should just throw the first fight…"

"No!" Misaka said loudly. The boy looked at her. She lowered her voice. "If you do that, I'll never forgive you."

The boy sighed.

"Fine, but if I end up fighting and defeating you, you better not get angry at me and stop speaking to me or something."

"I won't." Misaka smiled. "I just want us to have fun together. Ever since you got a girlfriend, we haven't had as much time to hang out."

"You do realize we text each other constantly, right? So it's not like we don't talk." Kakine remembered getting his phone bill last month and realizing that the two had exchanged over 100 thousand texts in just a months' time.

"It's not the same…"

"Whatever. I hear this year's tournament is going to be different to. I hear they have a Protector this year. Supposedly he's even powerful enough to defeat the number 1."

"That sounds like a stupid rumor to me. I mean really. If he can defeat the number 1, then why isn't he number 1?"

"Maybe he's not an esper." He replied.

"I doubt that. What else could he be?"

A thought came to Kakine's head.

_That's right… She doesn't know about the Magic Side. I should really watch what I say. I could get in serious trouble if I let too much slip._

"Forget it." The boy replied. "Come on. It's getting late. We should go."

"Right."

The two stood up and exited the café, making their way down the street slowly.

A thought crossed Misaka's head to ask the boy to walk her back to her dorm, but once they got to a certain intersection, their dorms were in complete opposite directions and by the time they got to her dorm it would be turning dark, so her would have to walk through the night to get to his dorm.

"Hey." Kakine said, getting her attention as they walked.

"Yeah?"

"How about I walk you back to your dorm?"

The thought passed through the girl's mind that he had somehow stolen the number five's ability from her and used it on her just now, but she realized that it was just a coincidence.

"W-what? Why do you suddenly want to walk me back? It'll be dark by the time we get to my dorm, you know."

"I don't know. I just feel like walking with you. Is that a crime?" He laughed.

"No…" She sighed. "Fine."

After about twenty minutes they reached the intersection that they always went to where they would split up. Instead, both of them turned right, heading towards Tokiwadai. The walk had been mostly silent.

"It's already sundown, huh?" Kakine said. The sky was dimming as the sun lowered.

"Yeah…" Misaka glanced at him. "So, how are going to handle the tournament?" She asked, trying to keep up a conversation.

"As long as we're on teams, I'll be the forward. You can be support." He smiled. "Though, if you want more action we can have it the other way around or we could switch off."

"I thought you weren't taking this seriously because you didn't want to participate in the first place."

"Well, as long as I'm in it and I'm not allowed to lose on purpose…" He glanced at her, smirked, then looked forward again. "I might as well go for the win. It's been a long time since I've used my ability to its full extent."

Misaka laughed.

"So, you're going to go all out then? That should be interesting."

"Yeah. I guess I should hold back some, though. I wouldn't want to kill anybody."

The talked about school and life the rest of the way there. They stopped at the entrance.

"Thanks for walking me back." Misaka said with a warm smile.

"No problem." Kakine returned the smile. "Maybe I'll walk you home from now on. We don't get to spend as much time together now as we used to."

"That would be great." She replied.

"Well then, I guess I should get going…"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a female voice.

"Onee-sama!"

A girl with pink hair pulled into twintails appeared out of thin air beside Misaka and hugged her.

"K-Kuroko!?" Misaka said, surprised. "Geez, I told you not to scare me like that. You really abuse your ability a lot."

"Oh come on, you know I mostly use it to get closer to you!" Kuroko said happily.

"Yeah, yeah." Misaka rubbed her head and smiled.

"Hey, Shirai." Kakine said.

Kuroko jumped at the sound of his voice and released the girl, standing up straight.

"E-eh!?" She seemed surprised to hear his voice. "Kakine-sama!" She bowed and stood up straight again. "Sorry, I didn't notice you! It's nice to see you again!"

"No need to be so high strung around me. And I said you didn't have to address me with '-sama'."

"Well, I thought I told you that you can call me Kuroko."

Both of them stood there, staring at each other with blank looks. Then they burst into laughter.

"Geez, I just can't win with you." Kakine said.

"Winning is a nice trait of mine." Kuroko said, winking at him.

"Yeah." He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the time. "It's getting late. I should get going. It was nice seeing you again."

"Same."

"See you Misaka, Kuroko." He turned away and started walking. "Oh, by the way… In case you didn't hear we're supposed to have a rapid drop in temperature tomorrow night. I hear it might snow." He turned to face them. "If that happens, how about we sneak out and have some fun?"

The girls both smiled.

"You bet!" Misaka said.

"Of course!" Kuroko said.

"Okay then. I'll see you girls tomorrow." He turned and walked away, slowly fading from their vision.

As he reached the intersection they had gone to before, he kept going straight, towards his own dorm. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and opened it.

"Hello?"

"Kakine!" A voice said on the other side.

"What is it, Shokuhou?"

"I told you to call me Misaki! After all, we're going out!"

"You're the only one who thinks that. We're not going out. Anyways, stop screwing around. What do you want?" He asked tiredly. He didn't like acting that way towards her, but he was tired and didn't feel like being messed with.

"I thought you said you would take me on date tomorrow! I just heard you making plans with Misaka-san and Shirai-san, though!"

Kakine closed the phone and shoved it in his pocket.

It vibrated again.

He reached in his pocket and took out the phone. He sighed then opened it.

"Hello?" He asked again.

"That was rude!" Shokuhou said from the other side.

"Look, I'm tired. I don't feel like screwing around right now. It's late. What did you call me for?"

"The number one entered the tournament, you know."

Kakine stopped walking.

"What?"

"That's right. I was just informed that he entered the tournament about ten minutes ago. Interesting considering signup is already over."

"If you consider his status in the city, it's not really surprising that that they would accept him even though it's closed. Imagine the excitement that having him involved would cause."

"True. However, I do think that there are certain reasons why he entered the tournament." The girl said.

"What would those be?" Kakine started walking again. "I'm guessing that he didn't just get the sudden urge to beat the shit out of a bunch of people who are weaker than him."

"I think it's because you entered."

"Eh?" The boy said, confused. "Why would me entering the tournament instigate him to enter the tournament?"

"Think about it. He doesn't really show up to publicly show off his ability. I hear that people are starting to question how powerful he is. So…"

"If he defeats the only other level 5 in a tournament, then nobody will question his power…" The boy finished for her.

"Exactly." Shokuhou sighed. "I want you to be careful in this tournament. I don't think he's going to hold back."

"I've heard a great deal about his ability." The boy said. "I'm sure that he's heard a lot of about mine as well. Do you think I stand any chance?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Your ability defies many of the natural laws of physics. A large part of the number one's ability is understanding those laws and using them to his advantage." She paused. "He has absolutely no way of understanding your ability without witnessing it firsthand. I think you're only chance is to defeat him before he can gather enough information about your ability."

Kakine sighed.

"I never thought I would end up fighting the number one." The boy said.

"Don't worry." Shokuhou said kindly. "You're the only other level 5 in the city. If anyone can do it, you can. I believe in you."

He smiled.

"Thank you, Shokuhou."

"Of course, Kakine."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Well, if we're going to go on a date, it has to be during the day."

Shokuhou did a fake gasp.

"So you'll go out with me!?" She asked excitedly.

"I won't be your boyfriend or anything like that." The boy replied. "However, I will spend the day with you as a friend. It's been a long time since we've done that, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has!" The girl said happily. "Well, I have to make preparations then! See you tomorrow, Kakine!"

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Misaki."

Before the girl could comment on the use of her first name, the boy hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket with a smile.

"Tomorrow should be an interesting day."

Kakine made his way back to his dorm and snuck in to avoid being seen going in late. He opened the door to his room and walked inside, shutting and locking it behind him.

"Nice to be home." He quietly opened the door to his bedroom and looked inside. Somebody was sound asleep on his bed. He silently shut the door. "Good. She's asleep."

He didn't feel like dealing with his guest right now. He made his way to the kitchen and heated up some cup noodles, then sat down and started to eat.

"This is stressful…" He sighed. "I haven't even let Misaka come over lately because of this. She's going to get suspicious eventually. Well, I'll figure something out." He finished his meal and threw away the cup. "For now, I'll get some sleep." He walked over to the couch and laid down.

"Kakine?"

"…" He looked over to his side.

A middle school-aged girl stood there. She had black hair and both sides of her bangs were dyed yellow. She a pink headband on. Her blue eyes looked tired. She only wore a long t-shirt that covered her underwear.

"You were out pretty late tonight, Kakine." She said and walked over, sitting on the edge of the couch.

He looked up at her.

"I'm home, Lessar."

She smiled.

"Well, next time I'd appreciate it if you tell me when you're home." Lessar said.

"I didn't feel like dealing with you, but luckily you're cute and not that troublesome when you're tired."

She frowned as a small pink tint came to her cheeks.

"It's not like I wanted to stay here."

"I know."

"If I hadn't received the orders, I would still be in England right now… or at least, I would staying somewhere by myself."

"It's not exactly safe for a person on the Magic side to be wandering freely around Academy City." He sighed. "I only agreed to it because I owe Ollerus a favour."

"I don't like that guy. I don't see why New Light had to go under him for a while. Our leader didn't tell us anything."

"Well, I wasn't told anything either. I was just told that I was to house you for an unknown amount of time."

"I guess that's until I receive my new orders." She looked at him. "By the way…"

"Yes?"

"Why are you helping the Magic side at all? I don't get it."

"…" Kakine thought for a minute. "It's no big deal, really. It would be too long of a story to tell anyways. Maybe one day."

"I hate when people do that…" The girl said.

"Whatever. Anyways, why don't you go back to sleep? I'll wake you in the morning as I have been doing."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night."

Lessar walked back into Kakine's room and closed the door.

The boy sighed.

"Thank God she was tired."

Kakine turned on his side.

"Well… I should get some sleep. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

He slowly drifted off.

~The next morning~

Kakine scooped an egg off the pan and put it on the plate next to him next to another one. He took three pieces of sausage off the pan and placed it next to the eggs.

"There." He grabbed the plate and another one next to it with the same things on it and walked out to the dining area. He placed the two plates opposite each other. "Now then…"

He walked over to his bedroom and opened the door quietly. He slowly approached the bed and almost laughed when he did.

Lessar had the sheets to one side of her. Her legs were pulled up a little and her shirt was up to her stomach, revealing the light blue panties she wore underneath.

Kakine touched her shoulder.

"Lessar." She moved a little. "Lessar, wake up."

"Mm…" She mumbled a little, but didn't get up.

Kakine smirked. He gently grabbed her butt and gave it a little squeeze.

"Kyaa!" Her eyes opened immediately and she sat up quickly. She looked at Kakine and blushed. "W-what the hell was that!?" She yelled.

"I grabbed your butt."

"Why!?"

"To wake you up." The boy spoke as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

"You can't touch me there, you pervert!" She punched his chest, but it didn't really hurt him at all. In fact, it look like it hurt her a little, which was strange to her because the boy was no muscular.

"Haha." Kakine laughed lightheartedly.

"I'll kill you!" The girl said and jumped on him.

They wrestled around on the bed for a few minutes until the boy finally got on top and pinned her arms down.

"Stop that." He said. "Come on, it was just…" He was about to continue his sentence before he noticed the position they were in.

Kakine was over the girl, his hands pinning down her arms by the wrists. Lessar's shirt was pulled up enough to reveal the right side of the light blue bra she had on underneath her shirt. The boy's right knee was nudging her crotch and she was squirming slightly, a deep blush a on her face.

The boy suddenly got a blush on his face as well. He jumped off of her quickly.

"Sorry!" He said quickly, backing up.

Lessar sat up and looked at him, her face a deep shade of red.

"G-get out… I need to get dressed…" He had expected her to yell at him and try to kill him, but she didn't. Instead she spoke in a normal voice.

"Right." The level 5 got up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

He sat down at the dining room table and sighed.

After a few minutes, the girl came out of the room, now wearing a white undershirt with the initials N and L on it, the New Light logo. On top of that she wore a white jacket with red and blue sleeves that also had the New Light logo on it. She had on a miniskirt with the same colour theme as her jacket. A strange dragon-tail-like item could be seen coming out of the back of her skirt.

She sat in the chair opposite the boy and they both said their thanks for the meal and started to eat. The meal went by in silence.

After it was over, Kakine rinsed the dishes off and put them in the sink.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Lessar asked from the table.

"I don't know." The boy replied. "It's Sunday, so I might just go shopping for a while, but I have plans later on."

"Okay. I got a message last night. A member of New Light will be in the city today. So, I'm going to go meet them later, hopefully to receive new orders."

"Good."

The girl frowned.

"You seem like your pretty eager to get rid of me."

"Well, I can't really say that I enjoy living with a girl, especially one from the Magic side."

"Well you might have for a while, so learn to enjoy it." She smiled, seeming to return to the way she usually is. "Besides, most guys would think themselves very lucky to be living with a cute girl even it's only temporary."

Kakine turned and looked at her. He spoke nonchalantly.

"You are cute." He said. "However, it's difficult to manage you."

She giggled.

"What's that supposed to mean? I though you liked taking care of me, Kakine-san."

He sighed. She only used an honorific in his name when she was messing with him.

He smiled.

"I'm glad to have you here, then." His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out and looked at it. It was a text.

_Kakine-chan! Something turned up later, so I was hoping we could go on our date now! We'll still meet at the same spot. Is that fine? Your favourite girl, Misaki!_

"…" He stared at the text.

He didn't have anything to do now, so he might as well get the "date" over with.

He texted her back.

_Sure. I'll be there in about ten minutes._

He closed his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

"Did something come up?" Lessar asked curiously.

"Yeah. I have to go now. I'll see you later." He walked out of the kitchen and to the door, then turned to face the girl. "By the way, I'll be home late tonight, so feel free to use the key I gave you. As for food, you can make some cup noodles or something."

She didn't seem to like that thought, but didn't say anything about it.

"See you." She said with a smile, waving at the boy.

"See you." Kakine waved at her, then walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"Well then…" Lessar said, standing. "I guess I'll go a little early." She waited a few minutes to make sure the boy was a good distance from the place, then left.

Kakine made his way through the streets of Academy City. While he was on his way to the meeting spot, a store caught his eye. It was florist's shop.

"Hm…" He walked inside and bought one red rose, then left.

After a few minutes, he made his way to a café and sat down at one of the outside tables. He sat there for a few minutes, then heard a voice.

"Kakine!"

He recognized the voice easily.

He stood and turned to see Shokuhou walking towards him. She picked up a little speed and ran up to him.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting." She said with a smile.

"No, I just got here." The boy replied.

It had been a while since he had seen her, but she hadn't changed. She still wore the standard Tokiwadai school uniform and had on her white gloves. She carried a small white purse on her right shoulder. Her hair was neat and tidy and when he caught the faint smell of the shampoo she had used.

"Great!" She replied happily.

Like in a cheesy movie, Kakine held up the rose to her.

"For you." He said with a kind smile.

"Aww!" Shokuhou said with a small blush. "That's so sweet!" She took the rose from him and sniffed it. "Thank you, Kakine."

"Well, let's go, shall we?" He asked.

"Yes." Shokuhou wrapped one of her arms around his arm and they started to walk down the street. "I didn't think you would take this seriously." She said as they walked.

"Well, if I'm going to go on a date with you, I'm going to do it right."

She giggled.

"Well, there is this movie that I want to see."

"Okay then. Let's start it off with that."

The two made their way to a large movie theatre. It was around twice the size of a normal one and probably held around twice the amount of theatres.

"I haven't been here in forever." The girl said.

"Neither have I."

The two walked inside. The interior was huge. Past the ticket collecting lines, there was a large bar where snacks and drinks could be purchased. There were several lines of people. It was quite busy considering it was a Sunday.

They gave their tickets to a man and walked to one of the lines at the bar. They spoke casually for a few minutes about school until it was their turn.

Kakine got a large bag of popcorn for them to share and two medium drinks. They walked to their theatre and sat down.

"So, you wouldn't let me know what the movie is about." The level 5 said, looking at the girl. "How about now?"

"I don't think that matters, does it?" Shokuhou leaned close to him and pressed her breasts against his arm.

He just stared blankly at her, then leaned in towards her.

"You didn't bring me here to watch a movie, did you?"

"Nope!" She said happily.

He sighed.

"Why is it that every time you want to talk about something with me I end up spending money?"

"It's your fault for not letting me in your house."

"Do you really think I want you and Lessar in the same room?" He shook his head. "I'd rather not have to experience that."

"Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if you let me live with you too." She said, pouting.

Kakine flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" She said, rubbing her forehead. She put her hand down. "What was that for?"

"You looked cute pouting like that. That's never good."

She sighed.

"One day we'll be living together anyways…" She said.

"Misaki." The boy said, getting her attention. "Tell me why you brought me here."

The theatre got dark, signaling that then movie was about to start. The two leaned in close so they could whisper.

"I've heard that a magician will be entering the tournament."

"What? How the hell can a magician register for the tournament?"

"I don't know the details. As far as I know, he or she is in disguise as an esper though."

"How did you figure this out?" The boy asked curiously.

"I have connections." The girl smiled. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean? Why do I have to do anything about it?"

"If the magician isn't caught, then who knows how many espers might get hurt or even die?"

He sighed.

"Of course the job falls on me…" He said. "So, how do I find the magician?"

"That's up to you." The girl said with a wink. "I think you'll be able to do it though."

"I don't see where your confidence in me comes from."

"Just accept it." The girl stood and walked out the theatre.

Kakine followed her.

When they were outside the theatre, he stopped her.

"So, are we just going to go our separate ways again?"

"I'll contact you when I need to. We took a risk today. You know that we shouldn't be seen together." Shokuhou replied.

The two walked out of the building.

"Contact me again soon with details."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Kakine." She turned and started walking away but stopped. "Oh, and by the way…" She said, turning back to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Call me Misaki." She said with a smile. She turned and walked away.

* * *

**That's the end for now. I will be updating this alongside Brought into the Darkness. Thank you guys for reading! Please leave some feedback. I'm very curious as to how you guys will take to this story. Be seeing you.**


	2. Snowy night

**Hello everybody! This is chapter two for The Dark Matter Railgun! It's real nice to write like this sometimes. If you look at this story compared to my other ones, you'll notice that it has a slight difference in writing style.**

**Have you guys watched or read Ore no Imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai? I was reminded of this by my friend yesterday. I don't remember what he asked me, but I promptly replied by pulling out my phone, going on YouTube, playing the Stardust Witch Meruru theme song and singing along with it.**

**Anyways, enjoy guys!**

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Kakine looked at his cellphone. It was 20:32. He considered calling the girls to see if they were ready, but because of the whole thing with Shokuhou he decided to wait a while.

It was dark. The sun had set not that long ago. When he looked up, he found it hard to see the stars with the lights of the buildings.

It was cold. He didn't dislike the cold, but didn't like it when it got too cold. Right now, it was perfect for him.

He still only wore his normal attire despite the weather. People passed by him that wore coats, but those weren't really his thing.

When he breathed, he could see his breath.

It was surprisingly crowded for this time. He assumed that it was some kind of festival or something. He thought he remembered hearing something about that.

"Huh?" He had stopped walking and someone had bumped into him. He turned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

He stopped speaking.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was too busy eating to look where I was…"

A girl in a white nun's habit stood in front of him. She had long silver hair and green eyes. Her habit was trimmed gold. It seemed strange to see somebody wearing something like that in a city of science.

She was holding a bowl in her hands and chopsticks in the other.

"Index…?" Kakine asked slowly.

Index looked at him with a little shock. She dropped the mostly empty bowl, spilling the contents – noodles and a thick stew-like mixture – on the ground.

"Kakine-chan!?"

"I didn't expect to see you here…" The boy said.

"Neither did I…" Index gave him a kind smile. "Long time no see." She walked up to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. Due to their height difference, her head only reached to the bottom of his chest.

"…" He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. He missed the feeling of hugging her. It had been a long time since he had felt it. "Have you been good? What about Kamijou? Is he treating you well?"

Index giggled.

"Of course he is! We're both fine!" She looked up at him and frowned. "If only I could see you more. I don't get why we can't hang out or see each other at all."

"I told you. It would be too dangerous to stay around me now. You need to stay with Kamijou."

"Uuu…" She pouted.

She was cute when she was like that.

"Hey." He put a hand on her head and smiled. "Don't look like that." He rubbed her head gently. "We'll see each other again, okay?"

She smiled.

"Okay!"

"Anyways," He said, the two separating, though Index was reluctant to. "You should get going. Tell Kamijou that I said hey."

"Right!" She turned and ran a few feet before turning back to the boy and waving. "Bye, Kakine-chan!"

He smiled and waved back.

"Bye, Index." He said.

He watched as the girl ran off. He soon lost sight of her. Instead of looking sad because she went away, he smiled. He knew that if he did see her again, it wouldn't be for a long time unless something came up.

Kakine walked away from the festival and decided it was time to get the girls. He went up to the front gate of Tokiwadai and took out his phone. He called Misaka.

"Hello?" She said from the other side.

"Hey. Are you ready?"

"Yeah! We're ready. We'll be right out."

Kakine smiled as he put away the phone. On his way there the temperature had dropped even more. If it was going to snow, it would happen soon.

Kuroko and Misaka appeared from thin air in next to him.

"We're here!" Kuroko said.

"Hey you two." The two girls were wearing their uniforms, but they both had jackets on. "Let's go. I think it'll snow soon."

"Right!" They both said.

The two girls walked on either side of the boy as they walked through the streets.

"Even if it doesn't snow…" The boy said. "It's really a beautiful night, isn't it?" He smiled. He enjoyed seeing his breath as he spoke and felt nice in the cold night.

"Yeah…" Kuroko said. "We don't usually get to stay out this late, so it's nice to experience it every once in a while."

"Hey, Kakine." Misaka said. "Isn't your school really strict? Won't they be angry if you break curfew?"

He laughed and it seemed to echo through the night.

"It doesn't really matter. I guess you can say it's a perk of being a level 5." He winked at her. "Besides, what's life without a little rebellion? And…" He walked in front of the two and turned to face them. "If it snows, there's no way in hell I'm missing it."

The girls laughed and the three started running down the empty street.

Then a phone rang. It echoed between the buildings, so they heard it clearly and stopped.

"Is that yours, Onee-sama?" Kuroko asked the girl.

"Nope."

"Sorry, it's mine." Kakine took his cellphone out and opened it. "Hello?"

"Teitoku-chan!"

He frowned.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

"Oh come on!" Shokuhou sounded happy. "You told me to contact you later!"

"I told you to contact me with details. If you don't have any, then I'm wasting my time."

"How mean! I thought you would love to hear my beautiful voice!"

He felt like she was trying to annoy him. Sometimes she acted like annoying him was the most fun activity in the world.

"I'm hanging up…"

Just as he was about to take the phone away from his ear, she spoke.

"Hey, Teitoku-chan… Want to hear something interesting…?"

He sighed.

"What is it?"

"You're being followed…"

"What…?" Before he could finish his sentence, or rather before he could even get to it, she hung up. He looked at his phone. "Followed…?"

The two girls were looking at him curiously.

"Is everything okay, Kakine?" Misaka asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Huh?" He looked at her. "Ah, yeah. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's go."

"Yeah…"

They started walking again, though this time it was in relative silence.

_Followed… Where the hell are they? Is it an esper? A magician? She could have just been messing with me… Or she could have meant some type of scrying magic, but that's not really being followed…_

He was glancing around, but saw nothing. The girls kept looking at him.

Finally, the three walked into a busier street. The festival was over now, but people were still cleaning up.

"It's a shame we didn't come out earlier and catch the festival." Kuroko said, looking around. "It looks like it was a lot of fun."

"I passed by while it was still going on." The boy said. "I think it would have been an eccentric night if we had all gone."

They all laughed.

"By the way…" Misaka said as they exited the street. "Where are we going, anyways?"

"A park."

"A park?"

"Yeah. I think it would be a nice place to watch the snow."

"If it snows…" The girl shrugged. "Well, I guess we can hope."

They reached the entrance to a bridge that spanned across the river that ran through the city.

"It's right across here." The boy said.

They walked, taking their time.

"The reflection of the moon on the water is pretty." Kuroko said, looking out at the river. "I never get to see this sight because of curfew."

"It is." Misaka was looking with her.

Kakine stopped to give them some time to admire the view.

"Hey…" The girls turned to him, thinking he was addressing them. He was facing the way they came though. "Don't you think it's about time that you showed yourself?"

"What are you talking about?" Misaka asked. The two girls looked confused and worried.

"Someone's been following us for quite a while. I'd appreciate it if they would show themselves."

"Now, now." A girl's voice said. The three watched as a girl walked out into the open, the moonlight reflecting off her silver hair. It was Index. "There's no need to be like that, Kakine-chan!"

He frowned.

"It's a little late for you to be out, isn't it, Index?"

"Well, I just thought…"

He interrupted her.

"Of course, Index would never be out this late." He held his hand up, his thumb pointing up and his index finger held out towards the girl as if he was a kid pretending like he had a gun. "It's going a little too far to disguise as her."

"What's going on? Who is she?" Misaka asked, stepping up next to the boy. "An enemy?"

"I suppose so."

"Should we take her on?"

"I'd rather know who it is first." Kakine nodded at the girl. "If you can dodge my attacks until I figure out who you are, I might just let you out of this with minimal injury… Or you could save us both some time and tell me who you are."

"Where's the fun in that?" The girl said. "Come on, Kakine-chan. Haven't you thought about Index-san a lot?" She pulled part of the nun's habit to the side. "I could let you do whatever you want to me. It would be the same as doing it with Index-san."

Kakine stared at her blankly. He pulled his hand back as if he was recoiling from a gunshot.

Something tore through the air faster than any of the girls could see. It flew right by "Index's" face and smashed into the bridge, destroying a chunk of it. The internal aprts of the bridge creaked from the damage.

"I guess it's the hard way, then?" The boy asked.

"I see you're as powerful as ever." The girl said. "Not that I'll let you catch me off guard like that again."

"If you don't drop the disguise, I'm taking one of your arms off next."

She sighed.

"You're really not fun at all…" Her disguise disappeared. She was taller now. She had purple hair that was tied in a ponytail with a small smiley-face ornament on it and an ahoge on top of her head. She had purple shirt on and a short red skirt with white thigh-high socks on. Her purple eyes were calm despite her situation.

"That's better." Kakine said, but didn't lower his arm. "So, why are you following me… Uragami?"

"Nice to know you didn't forget me." She said with a smile. "I think you know why I'm following you."

"So, you're in league with that guy who's entering the tournament, then?" He frowned. "I don't know why you want a conflict between the two sides, but I'd prefer if you backed off."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Besides, I don't call the shots. I was just told to eliminate you."

Uragami dodged before the boy made his move. Just as she got out of the way, something small flew from the boy's fingertip and smashed into the bridge where she was. The ground gave way under the massive amount of force and collapsed into the water below.

"Your reflexes are as sharp as ever." He aimed at her. "How about you stay still, though?" He made the look of shooting again and something flew from his fingertip, smashing through one of the supports for the bridge.

The girl was now standing on the handrail.

"What made you think disguising as someone I just met up with earlier was a good idea? Not to mention she doesn't leave Kamijou's side."

"I just wanted to mess with you a little." The girl said with a smile. "I mean, what a great ending it would be to jump into your arms only to stab you through your heart."

"Who is she?" Misaka asked.

"An esper with an interesting ability." The boy lied. Lying about the Magic side was easy for him now.

"Eh? I'm not…" The girl started to say before she was forced to dodge, something smashing the spot where she was. "You really like abusing your Dark Matter, don't you?"

Dark Matter was Kakine's esper ability. It allowed him to make an unknown type of matter that he could use to attack or defend himself. It held infinite possibilities.

"I don't consider it abuse. I consider it necessary use." He shot another small bullet-shaped piece of Dark Matter from his finger. It smashed into the bridge below her, the force sending her flying a few feet into the air. "Besides…" The girl's eyes widened as she saw the boy take aim at her. "It's fun." He pretended to take a shot and the girl closed her eyes.

She started falling but stopped.

"Huh?"

She opened her eyes.

Kakine was holding her.

"I'm not as cruel as you are." He said. "However, I'm also not just going to let you go for this."

She frowned.

"Put me down."

"Are you going to try to run away if I do? I don't have any problem with that, but you'll get hurt."

She sighed.

"I won't." He let the girl down.

"So," Uragami said. "What, exactly, are you going to do with me, then?"

"Oh. I'm…" He stopped.

Something white passed through his vision.

He looked up.

It was snowing.

Snowflakes slowly dropped down, their number increasing quickly.

"Snow…" Misaka said. She held out her hands and watched as snowflakes landed on them and melted.

"It's been a long time since I've seen snow." Kuroko said with a smile.

Uragami was looking around with a curious look.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Kakine asked her.

She looked at him. He was staring into the sky, but his eyes looked like he was gazing at something much farther away than the snow falling down or the night sky.

"Yes… It is…" She replied. "I've never been in Japan this time of year."

"You've never seen snow anywhere else."

"Once… When I was a child…"

He sighed.

"Come on." Kakine said to the three.

They walked across the bridge to the small park that he had mentioned. They took shelter under a small overhang that had a table underneath it.

Misaka and Kuroko went out into the snow and started throwing snowballs at each other.

Kakine looked at the girl next to him. They were both sitting on the table.

"So, do you want to tell me why that magician is entering the tournament?" He asked.

"Not really." Uragami replied.

"Tell me." He said.

"A war…" The girl said. "They want a war between the two sides."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Who's 'them'?"

"I believe they call themselves Sorcery."

"Sorcery?"

She looked at the boy.

"Do you know what a sorcerer is?"

"Well, I have the feeling that it's nothing like what you would read about in a fantasy novel."

She sighed.

"A sorcerer is someone who primarily practices forbidden magic. They leave the Magic side in an attempt to gain power. Most fail and end up dying trying to master the forbidden magic. However…" She paused as she watched the two girls make snow angels. "The ones who survive are dangerously powerful. The churches feared an attack from them and gave permission to all magicians to kill sorcerers on sight."

"So, a pariah?"

"Basically."

"So, is this person I'm going up against a sorcerer?"

"We believe so."

Kakine looked at her.

"Does that mean you're not working with the sorcerers?" He asked.

"No, I'm not." She replied.

"Then why did you try to kill me?"

"If I killed you, there would no proof that the Magic side was involved in it in the slightest. I could use magic to erase my trail. However, the matter of the sorcerer is Magic side business. If an esper were to kill him or her, then the Magic side might get angered by this."

He sighed.

"They get angry for us cleaning up their problems. That's stupid." He looked back at the two girls in the snow. "Why would Academy City be fine with letting you kill me? I'm pretty sure even if you used magic, somebody with Psychometry or something could find you from anything you left behind."

"Actually…" Uragami seemed to hesitate. "The Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church discussed the issue of you or the number one possibly killing the sorcerer. Aleister said he had no problem with them killing you… if they could do it."

"Aren't you with the Amakusa, though?"

"Yes. However, we are currently at peace. They contacted us and, after some discussion, they decided to send me."

"Is it because we know each other?"

"I assume that is one of their reasons."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Huh?" She looked at him confused.

"If you want to go back, I'm not going to stop you… and you're an old friend, so I'm not going to hurt you."

"What happens if I stay?" She asked.

"You become an enemy of the Magic side and you have to help me with this sorcerer problem."

"I don't see why you're so intent on trying to stop the sorcerer when it isn't any of your business. It's still a mystery to us how you even found out about them."

"It will remain that way." He was looking at the girls, but Uragami thought he was looking somewhere far off again. "I'll crush them."

That comment got her attention.

"Huh? Crush them? You mean the sorcerer?"

"Them too." He said. He narrowed his eyes. "However, I'm referring to the entire Magic side."

He stood.

"That's impossible!" Uragami said. "The Magic side is too powerful for you to take on alone!"

Without looking at her, he responded.

"Who said I would be taking them on alone?"

"Huh?"

"I may have extreme goals and be quick to act… But I'm not stupid. I don't have a death wish."

"Who would be foolish enough to team up with you to fight the Magic side?"

He turned his head enough for her to see his smile.

"Isn't that obvious? The only other true esper who knows about the Magic side… The number one."

"You're really an idiot! There are people on the Magic side who can crush the earth if they wanted to! What makes you think that you can defeat someone like that?"

"If there really is someone like that… Let them come face me. I'll crush them as well."

Kakine knew that most of what he was saying was something that he couldn't follow through with. However, it was something that he believed achievable if he made the right allies. He didn't have to crush the entire Magic side. He only had to crush those who would be a threat.

"I'll do it." He said, walking forward into the snow.

She stood.

"You might lose." She said, walking forward to stand in the snow as well.

He turned to face her and smiled.

"I'll win."

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**I'm glad I decided to alternate between stories now. I don't know how many of you guys out there write stories, but I find that alternating between two or three of them really helps creativity. I can easily find myself able to continue to story for something else after writing a completely different thing. Although, in the case of the three Toaru fics I'm writing, they're not completely different I guess.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you have any questions, please leave a review or PM me! Be seeing you!**


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